The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-10-13
acts Of the 4ssh Congress, 6,s4s. 7sO acres


ment of the additional quantities of land
actually restored under the executive ac-
hon of the General Land Office and the De-
partment of the Interior: Lands restored
within railroad limits: Texas and Pacific
railroad in California and within overlap
ping limits of the Southern Pacific under
the Commissioner decision of April 4th,
1885, $4,000 acres; Atlantic and
Pacific railroad in California under the
Commissioners decision of July 13, 1886,
affirmed by the Secretary of the Interior
March %, 1886, 800. 900 acres; Northern
Pacific railroad in Washington territory
under the Commissioners decision of
September 13, 1886, affirmed by the
Secretary of the Interior October 49, 1886,
"a 400; Sioux City and st. Paul railroad in
Iowa, under the Commissioners decision of
February II, 1887, affirmed by the
Secretary of the Interior Septe nber
12, Il 1887. 26,017. making =, total Aad
acres forfeited under the acts of the 49th
Congress total of 8,95S, 1T acres.
Also within railroad limits the quantity
restored by revoking indemnity with
drawals claimed equals 81, 1926, 800; by
the rejection of false or fraudulent private
land claims 576 600; by fraudulent entries
cancelled, 268, $50; by false selections
under swamp and timber Improvements,
etc., grants cancelled, 566, 744; making a
total of 81 ,693, ,481 acres actually restored
to the public domain and opened to settle
ment. The recovery of upwards of TO-,
500, 200 acres additional to the above has
also been recommended by the land Office
under the administration of General
Sparks, within railroad limits, and by the
rejection of fraudulent private land claims,
etc., which, if carried into effect, as should
and most likely will be in time, will swell
the amount to AZ, 1913, 48l acres.
The House of Representatives also
passed bills foreeiting many million of
acres more, which were not acted upon by
the Senate, but probably will be at the next
session of Congress. l know it is claimed
by Senator Sherman that among the first
railroad land grants made by Congress
was grant to the Illinois Central railroad,
and it was made by Democratic Congress
and approved by a Democratic administra-
tion. Now Senator Sherman certainly
knows that the lands received by the
Illinois Central railroad were granted to
the State of Illinois, and not to the rail
road. It is true that the railroad got the
the Legislature of Illinois and not By Con-
that ten per cent of the gross earnings of
the road were to be paid into the
State Treasury of the State of
Illinois o to defray the expenses of the
the State administration in that State.
That provision of the grant has been the
means Of putting millions of dollars into
the State Treasury of Illinois, and so large
is the revenue received by the State from
that source, that it is almost sufficient to
defray the entire expenses of the admins
tration of that great State. Well, now
that was the first Democratic grant made
to State to develop and aid State, and
all the people Of the State, and not to
corporation. How was the first Republican
grantI It was made to the Pacific rail-
road system, and it embraced more land
than there is in the entire State of Illinois,
and it was made without conditions, except
that the road should be built; but they did
not stop there. After giving away to this
great corporation such vast domain with
out reserving any of the earnings as consid-
Grafton. as in the case of the Illinois Cen
tral, they went even further, created the
Credit Mobilier steal, the most gigantic Of
the age, by the bribery of members of
Congress, and loaned the road hundred
million Of dollars, issued the bonds and
Now fellow citizens, L repeat, that prior to
the time that the Republican party came in
to power, not an acre of the public domain
had ever been granted to a corporation by
Congress, and l have shown you from
official figures recently received from the
land Office, that during the twenty years
the Republican party were in power nearly
one hundred and fifty millions of acres
were 6granted directly to corporations,
many of which failed and refused to earn
the grant, and that no steps were taken by
any Republican administration to either
exact the conditions of the grant, or for
felt the same upon the failure of the con-
ditions. ] have also shown you that the
Democratic party, true to its pledges at
the very beginning of Mr.. Cleveland's
administration, began the reclama-
tion of these lands from these
corporations, and that they have been at it
every day since. But the granting of the
public lands to the railroads by the Repub-
ican party, was not the emily act of e1-
travagance they were guilty of in connec-
tion with the public domain. For ten
inauguration as President, large bodies of
the public lands were occupied by syndi-
Gates ofa livestock men; they enclosed it
with wire fences, and pastured upon it
hundreds of thousands Of head of cattle
and sheep; they paid no taxes either on
land or cattle, and produced. beef and
wool at little expense, making ruinous
competition with our farmers in Ohio, and
other eastern States. Prominent Republi-
cans, some of them United States Senators
and government officials we're largely in
terested in these syndicates or cattle
monopolies; they occupied ten million of
acres. Proceedings have been commenced
in large number of these cases to reclaim
these lands; the fences have been re-
acres of this land opened to settlement;
and proceedings have been ordered by the
General Land Office at Washington, in